


And darlin' remember, nightmares are dreams too

by NatalieRyan



Series: Whumptober 2020 [29]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Collapsed lung, Gen, Hurt Jack, Hurt Mac, Jack Whump, Mac Whump, Mac has a weird dream while in a coma, Panic Attacks, Whump, Whumptober 2020, day 29, intubated Mac, medically induced coma, referenced events from season 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:35:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27428023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NatalieRyan/pseuds/NatalieRyan
Summary: I've been dying to share this with y'all. It was an idea that wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it.At first I didn't know if Mac's coma dream should be Jack-less or season 4 as a nightmare and then as if I needed more incentive, I wrote the mix of both, mentioning the mess that season 4 was and Jack not being around but only in the dream (nightmare 😈). Jack's always there when Mac wakes up.Warning for panic attacks when Mac comes to consciousness and is still intubated.Thank you SabbyStarlight for inspiring me with your fic for GEAW.And thank you N1ghtshade for the brainstorming, helping me choose the pics for the edit and for the beta.
Relationships: Jack Dalton & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Series: Whumptober 2020 [29]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948579
Comments: 16
Kudos: 40
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	And darlin' remember, nightmares are dreams too

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SabbyStarlight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SabbyStarlight/gifts), [N1ghtshade](https://archiveofourown.org/users/N1ghtshade/gifts).



> I've been dying to share this with y'all. It was an idea that wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it.   
> At first I didn't know if Mac's coma dream should be Jack-less or season 4 as a nightmare and then as if I needed more incentive, I wrote the mix of both, mentioning the mess that season 4 was and Jack not being around but only in the dream (nightmare 😈). Jack's always there when Mac wakes up.   
> Warning for panic attacks when Mac comes to consciousness and is still intubated.   
> Thank you SabbyStarlight for inspiring me with your fic for GEAW.   
> And thank you N1ghtshade for the brainstorming, helping me choose the pics for the edit and for the beta.

Mac could feel that something was missing, but couldn't pinpoint what it was. He woke up from yet another night of alcohol induced sleep. It felt like it was such an occurrence these days that he ran out of beers faster than he was able to replenish them. 

Riley and Bozer sometimes joined him, but gave up after a beer or two. Leanna wasn't much of a beer drinker, and after their failed attempt at a relationship, Desi rarely came at the house. 

Mac tried to repair that broken patch between them. They worked okay like a team, but personally they needed to talk about stuff and the communication wasn't the strongest suit either of them had. Mac kept trying, though. He hated leaving things like that with people he cared for, and as much as they didn't work out as a couple, Mac had a feeling they would definitely work as friends. 

He showered and dressed for work, which wasn't as half fun as it was before. Mac went through the motions, helped people, worked the missions, but still, something huge was missing. A big chunk of him got lost along the way, and Mac had no idea what it was. 

Mac didn't like the looks he got when he got “too lost” in his thoughts according to everyone. Often he got the urge to tell them that they knew him, too, despite their denial. And Mac would prove it to them. 

The “him” in question was Jack, Mac's best friend and partner at the Phoenix. But whenever he mentioned Jack, everyone looked at him like he lost his last marble. They often checked if he was feverish or had enough sleep, if he stayed hydrated or drank too much the night before; as well as taking over the counter meds that could cause severe side effects. 

Mac was tired, because it felt like he was talking about an imaginary friend he invented to make himself feel better as well as feel less lonely. It was a far cry from how Mac was and he would never do that, life was too real for him to grasp at straws, or in this case, a person that everyone convinced him that didn't exist. 

Riley even went as far as searching the internet with the details Mac gave her on “Jack”. The only (not even remotely close) thing she could find was a Jack Wyatt Dalton that had died back in 2008, and Mac wasn't convinced they didn't create that fact to appease him and make him talk about Jack less. 

From an outsider point of view, Mac could understand how it looked. It felt almost like one of those sci-fi and paranormal activity movies Jack always liked to watch, but Mac was sure that he wasn't losing his mind. He would prove it to all of them, he would find evidence that he didn't make up Jack. 

The looks he got, though, those were the worst. He could handle almost everything, but not the pity and his friends feeling sorry about him. The looks that said he was losing it, those he could take. But not the rest. 

One thing Mac was grateful for was the fact that no one mentioned this to James. He knew his father never approved of Jack, and he couldn't fathom the thought of what James would do if he heard about what Mac was “seeing” according to his friends. 

When they tangled with Codex, or rather they stumbled upon Codex thanks to their new boss, Russ Taylor, everyone kinda forgot about the Jack thing. And Mac loathed himself because of putting his plans to prove everyone that Jack existed to the backburner. But Russ was actually as crazy or maybe even more than Mac's father so Mac decided to hold off. 

He could tell his friends, his team were happy that Mac let go of it, perhaps they even thought it was a phase, a glitch, and that made him angry for some reason. 

So Mac became aloof, he pushed everyone away, he didn't want them to label him as crazy, to push the thoughts of Jack away, to act like he didn't exist. So Mac stayed at the Phoenix, he went to work every day, he solved problems, saved people's lives and just existed in pure spite. Because there was no such world without Jack Dalton in it. 

And Mac was damned if he didn't try to prove it to those that didn't believe. 

…

Jack thought that if he spent one more day watching the ventilator and listening to the hissing as it inflated and deflated, he would have to take measures in his own hands. Or more like he would have punched a wall, creating a hole in it. He was pretty miserable and bitter after all that happened so he shouldn't have been held accountable for what he was going to do.

Jack was aware that the ventilator was there to keep Mac breathing for the time being, his kid needed it, because of the collapsed lung. 

Jack closed his eyes. He didn't get more than three hours of sleep in the last two days, not after he was forcefully sedated when he refused to go and rest and became violent. Mostly he was yelling, but no one could understand his inner turmoil so Jack didn't even fight it when they stuck the needle in his arm. 

He was trying to play mummy, to be quiet and a model patient, because that was what he was essentially. A patient. Something he conveniently didn't address. He was hurt as well, but refused to rest and let himself heal. Not while Mac was on a fucking ventilator and Jack failed to stop that. 

Jack wiped at a tear that involuntarily slid down his cheek. No matter how many times he tried, he couldn't stop thinking about what happened last Friday. The mission. Following the arms dealing ring that led them to drug traffickers seemed so far away, not something that happened last week. Exactly one week since Jack had a front row seat to watch Mac as he was decked with a long wooden beam. One week after Mac staggered, stunned for long enough to not see the crate right in front of him and hitting his head on it. The way the crack of Mac's head against wood echoed in the warehouse. 

Jack was too late to prevent his partner to get hurt, but he wasn't going to stand still as Mac's assailant was getting ready to hit him even as Mac was lying, unmoving on the ground. Jack charged, and they fought. What Jack didn't predict was for the man to pull a knife and drive it into Jack's stomach like it wasn't nothing more than a stick of butter. It came so easily, going through the skin, slicing inside him and then it stayed there as Jack sprawled on the cold stone floor with the guy fleeing the scene. 

Jack was hyper aware of Mac not breathing next to him and he tried to inch closer to Mac, try and check for more injuries than the nasty head wound and why Mac was so unresponsive. He only succeeded to come closer to where Mac lay and close a hand around Mac's right wrist. 

Jack groaned as he tried to press on his wound without moving the knife too much; and after his heart went through the roof at the combination of Mac's heartbeat barely there, but skyrocketing and Mac not breathing, Jack managed to somehow turn on his comm and call for help. 

… 

Jack was brought back to the here and now by a distressed sound next to him on the bed. The doc, a new one they hadn't dealt with before, decided to remove Mac from the ventilator today, but it was supposed to come off after Mac was a bit down from the sedatives. 

Jack tried to tell the doctor to wait, to remove the vent first and then wake Mac up. Mac burned through anesthesia and sedatives faster than other people, they learned that the hard way. Their usual doctor was on leave and this one didn't take things Jack said at face value. Jack wasn't going to argue with the man who had his kid's life in his hands, and Jack wasn't a trained medical person, but the little things he knew about his partner that should have been remembered in situations like this one, those were his specialty. 

So when the kid started thrashing on the bed and his eyes shot open, Jack was next to his bed, pressing the emergency button to alert the nurse on duty. 

In less than a minute the room was swarming with nurses and the doctor and Jack was kicked out. 

Jack was right in front of the door, watching as they tried to calm Mac down, but being unable to do it. Jack barely stopped himself from barging in inside, his wound throbbing in tandem with how tightly Jack had locked his body to stand still. 

When it was clear they were unable to calm Mac down the doctor turned to the door in a wordless request. 

“Told you. You should have listened.” Jack growled in passing. 

He didn't stay to listen to what the doc was going to say, instead moving next to where Mac was still thrashing in the bed. 

"Kid, it's me. It's Jack. Can you calm down for me, huh? Please? The docs will get the tube out, you just have to calm down and let them work. 

Mac felt already calmer by listening to Jack's voice, but he could still feel the choking sensation of the tube that was shoved down his throat. Involuntary tears sprung out of his eyes and leaked unbidden as the image of Jack hovering blurred even more. 

"I know it's scary and that it'll hurt, but you have to let them get it out. Okay?" 

Mac didn't have it in him to nod, but he blinked once to let Jack know that he would try to calm down. 

He tried not to focus on the intrusive feeling of the foreign object that apparently was a breathing tube, down his throat or how it felt when they started pulling it out.

Jack was gently droning on and on, talking nonsense and Mac focused on that, and holding Jack's hand in a bruising grip. Or was that Jack holding his hand in a strong grip? Whoever it was the initiator, they both didn't pull out, holding on to each other. 

It felt like hours until the tube was out and Jack was there, running his fingers through Mac's hair, comforting him. 

...

Mac was grateful for Jack. He really missed him wherever it was that his mind took him to in his weird dreams in what he learned was medically induced coma. Perhaps it was that Mac was missing in that alternative reality. Jack not being there, because Mac's brain took him somewhere and locked Jack out of his memories, but Mac fought to come back. He needed to make sure that Jack was safe and that he actually existed. 

After the initial freakout when Mac woke up for the first time, he woke up briefly twice more. For both of those times Jack was there, explaining to Mac that he was in a medically induced coma, and that he ended up hurt worse than it looked, but Mac couldn't focus on what exactly happened. It was weird, to remember both times he woke up, but not exactly what Jack told him. The doctor explained to him about the concussion so Mac chalked it up to that. He hated to be the one to ask what was wrong with him for the umpteenth time, but he knew he had Jack's patience on his side and Jack wouldn't mind. They both had gone through concussions before so Jack knew how it felt. He wouldn't mind. 

Speaking of Jack, his partner was sleeping. And now that Mac could see it better, Jack was sleeping in a hospital bed. So unless Medical was too kind to free one up for Jack, that meant Jack was hurt as well. 

Mac was really concussed because that detail escaped him somehow. 

Just then Jack groaned and Mac watched as one of Jack's hands ended up clutching his stomach. 

Jack's face scrunched and there was another yelp before Jack started to take even breaths, riding the pain out. 

Then he opened his eyes and he looked at Mac. He smiled a tired smile and Mac smiled back. 

"Hey."

“Hey yourself. You finally with me?” 

“Seeing as you slept through me waking up, yes, I am, old man.” 

Mac's throat felt like he was gargling glass and drank scalding hot tea at the same time, but at least he was breathing on his own now. It felt still like he was wading through deep waters, but the burning sensation was abating and he was grateful. Judging by the way Jack looked like Mac's best guess was that he scared his partner. 

Jack grimaced at the words and Mac realized he hit a nerve too late. 

“Hey Jack, you know I'm teasing you, right? You are not actually old.”

“I don't know about that. It took me too long to reach you and help you out on scene. Coulda prevented this from happening. I mean not the whole hospital stay, but-” 

“Jack, stop. Breathe.” 

Mac managed to raise himself a bit on the bed and watched as Jack was pulling in breaths, his hands clutched tightly over his stomach, Jack's chest moving too fast for Mac's liking. 

“Just focus on the sound of my voice. We are in the hospital. And I'm fine. We both are. We made it.” 

Mac watched carefully as Jack calmed down. 

“Could you look at me?”

Mac knew that there were not a whole lot of things Jack could deny him, and Mac hated to use them against Jack, but it was either that or watch his partner succumb to the guilt he felt for one thing or another. One thing Jack had plenty of, besides the big heart and love for everyone he cared for, was guilt. And sadly Mac knew that all too well. 

Thankfully, Jack looked up. 

“Now that's better.” Mac had to stifle a sudden cough and Jack was there with a glass of water in a flash. Well, a walk-stumble that was as fast as Jack could muster. 

Definitely hurt then.

“Mac? You okay?” 

“Yeah, yeah, I'm good. Just a cough.”

Jack was watching him with a mix of sadness and regret, like he wanted to take the pain from Mac. Mac knew that feeling all too well. 

“Tell me what happened at the warehouse.” Mac asked and he knew that Jack wouldn't return to his bed now, so Mac moved a bit and when it took too long for Jack to understand what Mac was doing, tugged Jack gently until he was seated on the bed. 

“I watched you get almost killed and couldn't do a damn thing to save you.” 

Mac could guess that much, but he needed more. 

“Jack?” 

“One of the guys, he… he hit you.” 

“Oh, believe me, I remember that very well. I want to know what happened after.” 

“You whacked your head. You still have an impressive lump even after a week. Plus some new stitches although doc said it won't scar, so you don't have to worry about that.” 

“A week?” 

Mac could see that Jack was struggling with his words and knew that he wasn't the kind of person that initiated contact, but right now he needed it as much as Jack. Mac reached with a trembling hand and grasped Jack's hand that was clammy and cold to the touch. Jack squeezed in return, and looked at their joined hands, refusing to look at Mac again and that's how Mac knew things were bad. 

“I tried to get him off of you, he was getting ready to hit you again. I got stabbed in the process. I wasn't careful, and he got the upper hand.”

“Jack, you couldn't have known that he would stab you. If that's what you are worrying, please stop. It was out of your hands.” 

“If I didn't get hurt I could have gotten you the help you needed and stopped this from happening. Your lung collapsed, Mac. I have the training, we had the equipment. I could have-” 

“Stop!” Mac ordered and despite not using his voice for a while and the tube wrecking his throat, Mac's voice didn't waver. 

”I'm sorry.” Jack apologized and still looked down and not at Mac. Mac had no idea what Jack apologized for. 

“What for?” 

“For not being able to help you.” 

“You were stabbed.” 

“Still.”

“Jack, unless you have developed some superpowers I am not aware of then there is no way you could have prevented this. You were injured yourself.” 

“Tell that to my brain.” 

“Jack.” 

“I know, hoss, I know. Even the doc explained that collapsed lungs sometimes happen out of the blue. He didn't hit you close to any of your ribs or the lung itself. And you didn't have any preexisting conditions like pneumonia, so that wasn't it. It just happened.” 

“Then why are you so worried about it, Jack?” 

“I wish I could tell you, but I don't have an answer to that, yet. I just know that I failed at protecting you and it tears me apart. Just seeing you with the ventilator… it killed me. I don't want you to be the one suffering. Not if I can help it.”

Mac had to cough to clear his throat because suddenly he felt a lump on top of the other sensations. 

“I think we established that you are not almighty. You have to stop blaming yourself for things out of control, Jack. Seriously, it's something none of us can control. I don't like getting hurt myself any more than I like seeing you like this. Feeling like you have to carry this heavy burden of guilt. 

“I know that it feels like you didn't get enough, that you could have done more, changed something, been faster or maybe if you didn't go there but somewhere else; believe me that's my whole life in a nutshell. 

“But a wise man once told me, and listen to things, 'cause I ain't sayin' this twice boy,” Mac chuckled at the way Jack immediately looked up, “you can't save me every time. But you can do your damndest to try and help me after it happens, because in our line of work? Chances are that I'll get hurt again before the month's over. Even you. No one's immune, Jack. We just have to deal with it. I thought you got the hang of it by now.” 

“I thought I did, but looks like I'll have to work on it.” 

“And I'll be here to help you.” 

Jack finally looked at least a little better, if still haunted, and Mac counted that as a win. It'd take a while for Jack to truly regain his footing and not doubt himself. But Mac was going to be there to help with that. 

“Oh and if you tell anyone that I called you a wise man, I'll deny it.” Mac teased and that pulled a laugh out of Jack. 

“You betcha I'mma do that. Okay, I've been meaning to ask what were you dreaming about while you were, y'know?” 

Mac shuddered at the thought of his weird dream. 

“You won't believe this, but, uh, me and Desi, we were a couple and then we broke up. We were a mess…” 

Mac kept talking, retelling Jack how no one believed him that Jack existed, how Codex almost killed them all, and the most important thing, the feeling of being haunted by a very specific historical person. 

“This sounds like you were trapped in one of those science fiction movies.” 

“That's what I, well my dream version, thought. It was weird, man. Tesla was everywhere. In the library books I borrowed, in movies, even online ads were suggesting to me if I wanted to read books about him.” 

“That's wild. But knowing you, that dream could have been worse.” 

“Yes. It was as if suddenly everyone was obsessed with him or something.” 

“Not to put a damp on the mood any more than it already is, but dude, that sounds more like a nightmare than a dream.” 

“It felt like one.” 

“And for the record, you know I'd never leave you, right? Not now, not ever. In any version of reality, I'll be there to annoy you.” 

“I know.” 

“It doesn't hurt to remind you, because you can sometimes get stuck in that big brain o' yours.” 

“Look who's talking.” 

“Touche.” 

Mac yawned all of a sudden and whatever he was going to say next got cut off. 

“You mind we pick this up after I get some sleep.” 

“Not at all.” 

“Oh, and Jack?” Mac stopped Jack before he was back to his own bed. “Thank you.” 

“Always, kid.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts?


End file.
